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Originating on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, the South Fork and Salt fires started on Monday, June 17, 2024. The South Fork Fire was reported at 9:07 A.M. MDT and the Salt Fire was reported at 2:00 P.M. MDT. The South Fork Fire, threatening the community of Ruidoso, New Mexico, reached 15,000 acres within 24 hours and as of 3:00 P.M. on Tuesday, June 18, is under evacuation orders. Both fires are burning timber and mixed conifer threatening the community of Ruidoso, NM. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Mescalero Agency responded immediately with local wildland firefighters from across multiple agencies and jurisdictions, exercising full suppression response.
| Current as of | Wed, 07/03/2024 - 09:57 |
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| Incident Time Zone | America/Denver |
| Incident Type | Wildfire |
| Cause | Under investigation |
| Date of Origin | |
| Location | Ruidoso, NM area |
| Incident Commander | Southwest Area Team 5, led by Incident Commander Dave Gesser, assumed command of the South Fork and Salt fires at 6:00AM, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. |
| Incident Description | The South Fork Fire is at 17,569 acres, 87% containment The Salt Fire is at 7,939 acres, 84% containment Both fires are located in the vicinity of: Ruidoso, NM Resources: Crews, heavy equipment, engines, helicopters, water tenders. |
| Coordinates |
33° 22' 16'' Latitude
-105° 45' 58
'' Longitude
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| Total Personnel: | 532 |
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| Size | 17,569 Acres |
| Percent of Perimeter Contained | 87% |
| Estimated Containment Date | 07/15/2024 |
| Fuels Involved | Brush, Hardwood Litter and Timber. South Fork Fire: Fuels include short grass meadows, oak brush, pinyon-juniper, ponderosa pine, slash, and spruce/fir. Large diameter fuels are dry for the time of year due to the continuation of the long-term drought affecting the area. Where dead/down fuels exist beneath live canopies, the dead fuel acts as surrogate ladder fuels and a source of significant heat to ignite canopies and result in group torching and shortrange ember wash. Salt Fire: Large diameter fuels are dry for the time of year due to the continuation of the long-term drought affecting the area. Where dead/down fuels exist beneath live canopies, the dead fuel acts as surrogate ladder fuels and a source of significant heat to ignite canopies and result in group torching and shortrange ember wash. Typical fuels include short grass meadows, oak brush, pinyon-juniper, Ponderosa pine, slash, and spruce/fir. |
| Significant Events | South Fork Fire: The South Fork Fire has received consistent isolated and scattered precipitation and one heavy rainfall event over the center of the fire footprint. Continued showers will further diminish the remaining heat sources. The majority of remaining heat sources on the South Fork Fire are downed logs well interior of control lines. Salt Fire: The "lower jaw" on the southern flank of Div. Tango on the Salt Fire is the only area with a higher density of hot spots relatively close to the existing fire perimeter. The heat sources themselves are unlikely to grow or threaten lines. The hot spots are in a "dirty burn" within a stand of very dense mixed conifer containing multiple snags and a juniper understory. The hot spots within this area continue to smolder and produce small amounts of light smoke which dissipates quickly. |
| Planned Actions |
South Fork Fire: Crews will emphasize constructing direct control lines on the west side of the incident to protect values at risk and increase containment. Mop up along established control lines is underway and will continue for the foreseeable future. Suppression repair work on constructed containment lines will begin where appropriate and where access is possible. Structure assessments will continue. Assigned personnel will provide initial attack response to any new starts within the TFR. Crews are also assisting utility Salt Fire: Mop up operations, and suppression repair activities are underway and will continue for the foreseeable future. Assigned personnel will provide initial attack response to any new starts within the TFR. |
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| Projected Incident Activity |
South Fork Fire 12 hours: The remaining heat sources are sheltered, isolated downed logs smoldering more than 100 yards from control lines. These logs pose little to no threat to control lines. 24 hours: Continued smoldering of individual logs. Less cloud cover will allow more direct sunlight to affect the burned area allowing for a slight increase in smoldering and consumption of residual heat sources before cloud cover increases in the afternoon. Salt Fire 12 hours: The area known colloquially as the "Lower Jaw" contains the majority of the detected heat sources. These heat sources are primarily individual pockets of smoldering duff within a mixed conifer stands. Large diameter, sheltered fuels will continue to smolder. 24 hours: Large logs in the "Lower Jaw" on the southern perimeter are expected to continue smoldering and may have very limited creeping. The area is heavily shaded by closed canopy mixed conifer which also effectively blocks wind. The increased direct sunlight due to lack of cloud cover is offset by the closed canopy which will likely result in no increase or decrease of fire activity. |
| Remarks |
South Fork Fire: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the fire area. Drone flights are also prohibited within this area. A South Fork Fire Emergency Closure Order is in place for national forest lands within the Smokey Bear Ranger District. The identified areas, and roads and trails therein, are closed to public access to provide enhanced safety of firefighting personnel and the public. The Lincoln National Forest has also implemented forest-wide Stage II fire restrictions. For more information, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/lincoln. SWA Team 5 is also managing the Salt Fire. Salt Fire: The Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) remains in effect but has been reduced. Visit https://www.tfr.faa.gov for more information. Drone flights are also prohibited within this area. A South Fork Fire Emergency Closure Order was issued on 6/20/2024 for national forest lands within the Smokey Bear Ranger District. The identified areas, and roads and trails therein, are closed to public access to provide enhanced safety of firefighting personnel and the public. The Lincoln National Forest has also implemented forest-wide Stage II fire restrictions. For more information, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/lincoln. SWA Team 5 is managing the Salt Fire. |
| Weather Concerns | South Fork Fire: Showers and storms last night put down between 0.15" and 0.25" of rainfall across the entire footprint of the South Fork Fire. Tuesday, storms formed well east and south of the fires and tracked away. Rain and thunderstorms stayed east through the afternoon. As of 1700 hours, there had been no rain over the fire but a band of showers and storms are expected to move across the area this evening into the overnight. With an upper trough lingering over the fire Wednesday, plenty of cloud cover, cooler temperatures, elevated RH, and daytime showers and a few storms are expected. Thursday looks to be a dry day as a frontal boundary pushes through from the northwest and brings in much drier air. Salt Fire: Showers and storms over the fire last night put down between 0.15" and 0.25" of rainfall across the entire footprint of the Salt fire last night. For Tuesday, that meant a slow start to daily warming, despite a lot of sunshine. Storms formed well east and south of the fire and tracked away. Temperatures were very near seasonal averages, with highs in the middle 70s to middle 80s. Relative humidity recovery this morning was excellent at 90 to 100 percent. This afternoon, the RH stayed elevated with minimum readings mostly above 40 percent. Winds were generally southwest 5-12 mph gusting to 20 mph. Rain and thunderstorms stayed east through the afternoon. As of 2100 hrs there had been no rain over the fire, but a band of showers and storms were expected to move across this With an upper trough lingering over the fire Wednesday, we expected plenty of cloud cover, cooler temperatures, elevated RH, Thursday looks like our first dry day in some time, as a frontal boundary pushes through from the northwest and brings in much |
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